Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Desert \De*sert"\, n. [OF. deserte, desserte, merit, recompense,
   fr. deservir, desservir, to merit. See {Deserve}.]
   That which is deserved; the reward or the punishment justly
   due; claim to recompense, usually in a good sense; right to
   reward; merit.

         According to their deserts will I judge them. --Ezek.
                                                  vii. 27.

         Andronicus, surnamed Pius For many good and great
         deserts to Rome.                         --Shak.

         His reputation falls far below his desert. --A.
                                                  Hamilton.

   Syn: Merit; worth; excellence; due.

Desert \Des"ert\, n. [F. d['e]sert, L. desertum, from desertus
   solitary, desert, pp. of deserere to desert; de- + serere to
   join together. See {Series}.]
   1. A deserted or forsaken region; a barren tract incapable of
      supporting population, as the vast sand plains of Asia and
      Africa are destitute and vegetation.

            A dreary desert and a gloomy waste.   --Pope.

   2. A tract, which may be capable of sustaining a population,
      but has been left unoccupied and uncultivated; a
      wilderness; a solitary place.

            He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her
            desert like the garden of the Lord.   --Is. li. 3.

   Note: Also figuratively.

               Before her extended Dreary and vast and silent,
               the desert of life.                --Longfellow.

Desert \De*sert"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Deserted}; p. pr. & vb.
   n. {Deserting}.] [Cf. L. desertus, p. p. of deserere to
   desert, F. d['e]serter. See 2d {Desert}.]
   1. To leave (especially something which one should stay by
      and support); to leave in the lurch; to abandon; to
      forsake; -- implying blame, except sometimes when used of
      localities; as, to desert a friend, a principle, a cause,
      one's country. ``The deserted fortress.'' --Prescott.

   2. (Mil.) To abandon (the service) without leave; to forsake
      in violation of duty; to abscond from; as, to desert the
      army; to desert one's colors.

Desert \De*sert"\, v. i.
   To abandon a service without leave; to quit military service
   without permission, before the expiration of one's term; to
   abscond.

         The soldiers . . . deserted in numbers.  --Bancroft.

   Syn: To abandon; forsake; leave; relinquish; renounce; quit;
        depart from; abdicate. See {Abandon}.

Desert \Des"ert\, a. [Cf. L. desertus, p. p. of deserere, and F.
   d['e]sert. See 2d {Desert}.]
   Of or pertaining to a desert; forsaken; without life or
   cultivation; unproductive; waste; barren; wild; desolate;
   solitary; as, they landed on a desert island.

         He . . . went aside privately into a desert place.
                                                  --Luke ix. 10.

         Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste
         its sweetness on the desert air.         --Gray.

   {Desert flora} (Bot.), the assemblage of plants growing
      naturally in a desert, or in a dry and apparently
      unproductive place.

   {Desert hare} (Zo["o]l.), a small hare ({Lepus sylvaticus},
      var. Arizon[ae]) inhabiting the deserts of the Western
      United States.

   {Desert mouse} (Zo["o]l.), an American mouse ({Hesperomys
      eremicus}), living in the Western deserts.

Source : WordNet®

desert
     adj : located in a dismal or remote area; desolate; "a desert
           island"; "a godforsaken wilderness crossroads"; "a wild
           stretch of land"; "waste places" [syn: {godforsaken}, {waste},
            {wild}]

desert
     n : an arid region with little or no vegetation

desert
     v 1: leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the
          lurch; "The mother deserted her children" [syn: {abandon},
           {forsake}, {desolate}]
     2: desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to
        join the opposing cause, country, or army; "If soldiers
        deserted Hitler's army, they were shot" [syn: {defect}]